Animal Testing is Justifiable

Animal testing is justifiable. It has many benefits. Many people focus on the negative affects of animal testing and forget the positive. In fact, the world wouldn't be where it is today if it weren't for animal testing. Many advances in technology wouldn't exist if it weren't for animal testing.

Over the years, scientists have solved many medical problems, cured diseases, and developed vaccines. All this was by using animals in biomedical research. Scientists performing animal-based biomedical research recognize the importance of the health and care of animals being researched to produce accurate results. Each year over 20 million animals are used in biomedical research projects, and more than 90 percent of them are mice, rats, and other rodents. Rats are valuable research subjects because their body systems are similar to humans and other animals in many ways. The animals are also susceptible to many of the diseases that affect humans.

Rat in Research for Animal Testing

Rabbit in Research for Animal Testing

Mouse in Research for Animal Testing

For certain experimental techniques, such as surgery, which rodents aren't good subjects for, animals such as cats, dogs, and non-human primates are used. Whenever surgery is performed, anesthesia is used. If it weren't for this research, than many of the vaccines and antibiotics wouldn't have been discovered. The American Association for Laboratory Animal Science states that "Every person in the United States has benefited from the results of research involving animals." In the early 1900's, Dr. Simon Brimhall became the first laboratory animal veterinarian. When he started his research, the average lifespan of adults in the United States was just over 47 years. In the years since, that lifespan has increased to over 75 years. This is mostly due to medical advances that have been based on animal research. Understanding the effect research efforts have on our lives will clarify the importance of animal research.

Animal experimentation is very...